Those Younger Days
by elmo-doodle
Summary: After a run-in with an unkown piece of machinery, two of the Torchwood team find themselves temporarialy changed into their younger days. The rest of the team tries to find a way to help them change back with some outside help. ToshOwen JackIanto
1. Part One

**elmo-doodle: **this is the first part of a fanfiction that i have posted up elsewhere on the net, and i decided that i should post it up here on as well! i'm definately going to finish it, and i've already got the second part started. it was only going to be a oneshot, but then i realised that it was 8,352 words long, and i wasn't even halfway through, lol. it will probably be a 3-part story, although it could end up being in two parts, depending on how much i want to write. i'm pretty new to the whole Torchwood fanfiction bit, but this story seemed popular on one of the other sites i have posted it on!

**warnings: **swearing. implied slash. romance. fluff.

**disclaimer: **if i owned Torchwood, then i would also own Doctor Who. sadly, i own neither, so all i have is my PLOT!!

**spoilers?: **im not so sure about this one myself lol. there are no immediate spoilers inside this. it does not take Reset in to account, nor Exit Wounds cries so, in short, Owen is not dead. YES!

**summary: **After a run-in with an unkown piece of machinery, two of the Torchwood team find themselves temporarialy changed into their younger days. The rest of the team tries to find a way to help them change back with some outside help, whilst the two temporarily transformed kids find themselves reconnecting with each other.

**THOSE YOUNGER DAYS**

**PART ONE**

Jack wondered how to even begin to explain what had happened on their investigation. An unusual spike in energy had sent Jack, Gwen, Tosh and Owen on a trip to a dodgy-looking neighbourhood and an equally dodgy-looking warehouse. They did the usual sneaking in, finding out what was happening and stop it. The last part of their routine didn't go so well. Yes, they had managed to stop it, but something happened which shouldn't have happened. This something had left two of Jack's team members in states of fury, and the other in uncontainable laughter. Jack would laugh later, for sure, but right now he had to act professional.

When they finally arrived back at the tourist centre, Jack received death-glares from two of the team, when asked if they needed some help getting inside. He obligingly let them handle it themselves, but he couldn't stop the ghost of a smirk appearing on his face. This earned him a kick in the shin.

"Sir!" Ianto called when they arrived in the hub. "Is everything all right? The energy readings went off the scale not too long ago, but then it disappeared. What happened?"

"We managed to stop the machine which was creating the readings from doing anymore damage," Jack told Ianto as the team walked towards them, "but the plan did backfire on us slightly."

Ianto frowned in questioning. "Sir?" All he got as a reply was Gwen's giggles. After a few seconds he noticed something. "Where are Tosh and Owen."

Jack couldn't help smirking again as Gwen started laughing. Jack moved aside to let Ianto see what had become of the other two team members. Ianto looked down at them in shock before letting out a small, "Ah."

There, behind where Jack had previously stood, were Tosh and Owen, but not in the same condition that they had left in before the mission. Instead, there were two children around the age of four and five; one little Japanese girl with hair that just came past her shoulders, smiling self-consciously up at Ianto; and one little boy, whose arms where folded and was giving a glare that would cut metal.

"As you can see," Jack said, contain his laughter, "something went wrong."

The little boy agreed with some colourful language.

--

"What happened?" Ianto asked when they were all seated in the meeting room.

"What do you think happened?!" toddler Owen asked, in a higher voice than Ianto was used to. "We go into the warehouse, find the machine, shut it down, and then it decides to zap me and Tosh, changing us into bloody children!"

"A boy your age shouldn't be using that kind of language," Gwen said teasingly. Owen responded with a rude gesture.

"Is there anything we can do?" Ianto asked Jack, who was watching all of this with amusement.

"I'm not sure," he replied honestly. Owen, unsatisfied with the answer, began to huff. "I've got a friend I can contact to help us sort this one out, but until I can reach him, we on our own."

"They appear to have their adult memories," Gwen said. "All that seems to be changed is their age."

"All that we know of," Jack corrected. "When my friends get here, we'll be able to learn more."

Ianto nodded. He glanced over at Tosh. "You've been very quiet," he said to her.

Little Toshiko smiled nervously and nodded.

"Toshiko can't speak English anymore," Jack told him. "She didn't learn English until she was about 13 and right now she seems to be about four."

"But if she has her adult memories, why can she not remember English?" Ianto asked.

Jack shrugged. "I'm not sure, but she can understand what we say. She just can't speak, read or write it, somehow."

Tosh sighed sadly, and Owen spared a pitying glance in her direction.

"So, what do we do now?" Owen asked.

Jack grinned in a way that Owen did not like.

--

"You're doing WHAT?!"

Jack tried not to laugh in Owen's face, but he was finding it increasingly difficult. "I'm leaving you and Toshiko here, in Ianto's flat, while the rest of us are at work. It's too risky to bring toddlers to Torchwood."

"But we have our memories!" Owen argued, stubbornly. "We're still the same just…smaller!"

"And being smaller will put you at risk," Jack said, firmly. "Owen, you'll hardly be able to beat up an attacker right now." When Owen didn't say anything, Jack continued: "I can't let the two of you work when you're in this condition." Tosh nodded in understanding, and Owen fumed silently. "You can watch TV and play the games that Ianto has left out. He said there's some milk in the fridge and some bananas and some bread, too." Jack rolled his eyes at the still steaming Owen, and gently ruffled the hair of Tosh. She giggled. "I'll be back before midnight." With that, Jack opened the door to Ianto's flat and closed it behind him as he left, locking it from the other side.

Owen sighed and looked at the clock, swearing when he saw that there were twelve hours to kill.

He turned around to face Tosh. "Well? What do you want to do?"

Tosh shrugged her shoulders and looked away.

Owen sighed and walked past her. "There's nothing stopping you from talking, you know?" he said as he walked in to the living room, Tosh following behind him. "So what if we can't understand you." Tosh just nodded. Owen rolled his eyes. "It's as if you don't want us to hear you speak Japanese!"

Owen grabbed the remote for the TV and tossed it up on to the sofa, which he clambered up on to. Once he got seated, he saw Tosh struggling to get up. They were only a year apart in age, but the transformation had made Tosh a bit smaller in height than Owen. Feeling sorry for her, Owen scooted across the sofa and gave her a hand up. When Tosh was finally settled, she muttered a soft "Arigato," and became quiet once more. Owen sighed and turned the TV on

It was going to be a long day.

--

"Are you sure it's okay to leave them alone?" Gwen asked as she followed Jack around to hub.

"They'll be fine," Jack assured her. "So long as they don't escape Ianto's apartment, they'll be safe." With a grin, he added: "Don't worry, they can't even reach the door handle."

Gwen rolled her eyes and followed Jack in to his office, where Ianto was carefully tidying the desk.

"What if something goes wrong when we're not there?" she asked.

This time, Jack turned around to face her. "Gwen, you're acting like an over-protective mother!"

Gwen frowned at him. "Well, somebody has to, Jack! Right now, they're just kids and for all we know, the longer they stay like that, the more-child-like they'll become."

"They'll be fine," Jack told her. "I've got an expert coming soon, so it won't be long until we get some answers." Jack moved towards his desk and started rummaging in the drawers, much to Ianto's annoyance.

"And who is this expert?" Gwen asked.

"Take a guess," Ianto said as he walked past her on his way out the door.

--

A few hours later, Owen was getting bored of watching the TV. He could tell Tosh was bored too, judging by how she was shifting around every now and then. Picking up the remote control, he switched the television off.

"Are you hungry?" Owen asked Tosh.

Tosh shook her head. At that moment her stomach decided to be noisy as it rumbled, and she blushed and looked away.

Owen smiled a little at her. "Come on," he said as he got off the sofa. "Let's see if we can find something to eat." He helped Tosh get off the sofa and began to walk towards the kitchen, with Tosh following close behind him.

When they got to the kitchen, Owen began looking around. "Maybe in the fridge," he said, and he made his way over to the appliance. Tugging it open, and after a bit of looking around, he triumphantly pulled out a carton of milk. After a little more rummaging he successfully brought out some bread and a banana. "Well, that's that. I wonder where he keeps the mugs?"

Tosh pointed up to a cabinet out of their reach. Through the glass door they could see some mugs, glasses and some plastic cups.

"No problem," Owen said, and he began to push one of the kitchen chairs towards the cabinet. Tosh nervously kept her distance and Owen clambered up on to the chair and stood on it, afraid that if she got too close he might fall off. He carefully opened the cabinet door and, standing up on his tip-toes, he successfully brought out two plastic cups. He closed the door and turned around on the chair. He hadn't noticed that he was standing on the very edge, so when he turned around he lost his footing and he went tumbling to the floor.

"Owen-chan!" Tosh gasped, and she ran around to the chair and kneeled down beside where Owen had fallen. "Daijoubide?"

Owen just grumbled and rubbed his arm as he sat up. "If that means 'are you okay?' then I'm fine," he told her. When he looked up at her, he saw that she had a look of genuine concern on her face. "Are you actually worried about me?" he asked, honestly surprised.

Tosh nodded and a light blush covered her cheeks as she responded: "Hai."

Owen looked confused at her. "…um…hi?" he said uncertainly.

Toshiko giggled at him. Owen smiled slightly at her and, pushing himself up off the floor, he retrieved the plastic cups that he had dropped. "Come on," he said, and he began to push two chairs towards the counter in the middle of the kitchen. "Let's make something to eat."

--

"You mean he's actually gotten in contact with this Doctor?" Gwen asked Ianto, astounded.

"Yes," Ianto said as he made some coffee. "It's his wrist-com. It must have some special button which allows him to reach the Doctor."

Gwen nodded and watched as Ianto began to stir the coffee. "Have you ever met the Doctor before?"

Ianto stopped stirring for a second. "I saw him at the battle of Canary Wharf."

Gwen immediately regretted asking. "I'm sorry," she said, touching his arm.

Ianto just nodded and continued making the coffee. "He's a mysterious man, and he used to be seen as a threat to Torchwood, since it was because of him that Queen Victoria set up Torchwood after an incident with a werewolf."

"Seriously?" Gwen asked. "A werewolf?"

Ianto smiled and turned around, carrying the tray of coffee with him. "I'm serious."

"Any other mythical creatures I should know about?" Gwen asked, following him out of the kitchen.

"Oh, a few," Ianto said, making his way to Jack's office. "Vampires, dragons, trolls, unicorns…and gremlins."

"Gremlins?" Gwen repeated, a little disbelievingly. "You're having me on."

"Oh, no," Ianto told her, teasingly. "The gremlins are the worst. Don't get them wet or feed them after midnight. If you do, you're in a lot of trouble. The last gremlin we encountered caused that massive black-out four years ago."

Gwen stopped walking and watched his retreating back. "You're not serious, are you?" she asked when she continued to after him, following the sound of his laughter.

--

"Right, let's see what we can make."

Owen and Tosh were standing on some chairs, which gave them easier access to the kitchen counter. Laid out before them were the cups, the milk, bread and bananas.

"It's not going to be that interesting, I suppose," Owen said as he observed what they had. "So, banana sandwich, then?" He made to begin preparing them, but he felt a tug at his shirt. He looked to see Tosh lightly tugging his shirt and biting her bottom lip. "What is it?" Tosh nodded towards the bananas. Owen understood. "Oh yeah…bananas make you sick. I can't believe I forgot that." Tosh nodded and let go of Owen. "Do you want to see if there's anything…" Owen's eyes suddenly went wide with surprise and horror.

Tosh looked up at him nervously. "Owen-chan?"

Owen's eyes snapped down to hers. "It's nothing," he said, a little weirdly. "Do you want to see if there's anything else besides bananas?"

Tosh shook her head.

Owen sighed. "You don't have to be so shy, you know," he told her, as he reached over to start pouring the cups of milk. "I know we haven't been that close over the past few years, but I've never known you to be shy around me." Once he'd set the milk down, Owen realised that he was missing something. "Crap, I forgot the butter- hang on."

Owen turned around on the chair and wavered dangerously close to the edge. Tosh automatically reached out to steady him, but she wasn't very well balanced herself. The two of them went tumbling down and fell to the floor in a laughing heap.

--

Jack was standing a little impatiently in the hub, with Gwen and Ianto on either side of him. It was coming up to about 6:00pm now, and Jack had said that his friend would be arriving at 5:00pm. There was a tray of empty coffee mugs sitting on a table near them, and Ianto had weighed down any stacks of paperwork that there was.

"They're a little late," Gwen pointed out, after another twenty minutes of waiting.

"I know," Jack said. "It's ironic, isn't it?"

Gwen was about to ask as to why it was ironic, but a strange grating noise had begun to fill the hub. She looked around for the source of the noise and saw that a flashing light had appeared in front of her and the others. She watched in amazement as the light became stronger and a large blue box began to fade in to existence. The noise and the light stopped with a resounding _thump_, and Gwen saw that she was looking at a very solid and a very real 1950s police box.

The door to the TARDIS was thrown open from the inside, and Gwen watched as a young, blonde woman ran out and threw herself in to Jack's open arms. Jack spun her around and laughed merrily with her, hugging her tight.

"Hey, Doc, where's my 'good-to-see-you' hug?" Jack said to someone else. Gwen spun around to see that another person had exited the box. This man was tall with wild brown hair, dark brown eyes and sporting a wide grin.

The man walked over to Jack and gave him what Gwen would describe as a man-hug. Gwen watched a s Jack smiled and laughed, and she realised that she had never seen Jack looking so happy before.

"Gwen, Ianto," Jack said to his team mates, "This is the Doctor, and this gorgeous young lady is Rose Tyler."

"Careful," the Doctor warned playfully, whilst taking hold of the girl's hand.

Jack held his hands up in defence. "I'm only being polite."

"To you, 'polite' is just foreplay," the Doctor said.

Gwen saw Ianto give a small smirk.

"So, this is Torchwood Three yeah?" Rose said, and Gwen instantly recognised her as a Londoner. "It's a bit…gloomy."

"Hey, it's a good place to get some top-secret work done," Jack said. "Just watch out for the pterodactyl."

"What?" Rose asked, disbelievingly.

"Can I get you anything?" Ianto asked the newcomers.

The Doctor seemed to consider this for a moment. "Some tea would be great, thanks."

"Anything for you, Miss Tyler?"

"Just coffee," Rose said.

"Right," Jack said, "everyone to the meeting room, and I'll explain what's going on."

Gwen nodded and began to show the way to the meeting room.

Rose watched Ianto walk away, and she said to the others, "I'll go help him with the drinks."

"Behave yourself!" Jack called after her. "Don't do anything to my tea-boy!"

--

It was quiet in Ianto's apartment. The fun and laughter from earlier on had died out, leaving a sleepy Owen watching over a sleeping Toshiko. She was curled up on the sofa, using one of the cushions as a pillow, and Owen was sitting further up the sofa from her head. It wasn't long after 6:00pm, and Owen felt like going to bed for the night- and odd occurrence since he didn't usually go to bed until 1 or 2 in the morning. He silently cursed to himself when he realised that since his body was only 5 years old again, and didn't have the stamina of his usual adult body.

He'd had a bit of a shock earlier when he remembered about Tosh's allergy. It was one of the many things that he used to be able to reel off about her, but over the past few years they'd become distant with each other.

Five years ago, when they had started working at Torchwood, Owen and Tosh had hit it off immediately. At the end of each night they would go out for a meal or a drink or just go out for a walk. Over the period of two years they had learnt everything about each other. Owen sighed to himself and wearily rubbed his eyes. He'd been so different back then…

"_Tosh, Jack asks if you can send those weevil files to him now," said a 25-year old Owen to Toshiko. "He wants to do a double check on them before tomorrow."_

"_No problem," Tosh replied, pressing a few buttons at her computer. "There, done!"_

"_That was quick," Owen mused as he watched her shut off the computer and begin to gather up her bags._

"_I had already created the email to send Jack before I left," Tosh said, turning around to face Owen. "You see, I think ahead like that," she teased him._

"_Ahh, clever," he responded, playfully. "Maybe you could teach me that trick."_

"_The day you plan ahead will be the day that I admit my undying love for Janet the Weevil," Tosh said, and they began to exit the hub._

"_That could happen," Owen said, smiling a little. "Janet's a very attractive alien."_

"_Stop it," Tosh said, hitting him lightly. _

"_Okay, okay." Owen took hold of Tosh's hand as they walked out of the tourist centre. "Right, let's see what we could do tonight."_

"_Not even going to attempt planning ahead?"_

"_Nope."_

It was always the same routine; walk to Torchwood together, get the work done, leave together. It seemed monotonous, but to Owen and Tosh, it was a comfortable routine. Owen remembered now that every night he would walk her home, kiss her forehead and laugh as she would blush prettily. It never went any further than that. Even on the nights that they were particularly drunk, they managed to have their wits about them. Owen smirked when he remembered that he would ward off any guy who came near Tosh, and how she would be both annoyed and amused by it. They cared deeply for each other, and they knew that the other knew it.

But somewhere along the line, the playful air between them evaporated. Owen let out a groan when he recalled all the long-lost memories of him and Tosh, and the horrible memory of how their close friendship shattered:

It had been three years ago. One night, Owen found out that Tosh had agreed to go on a date with another man. He had discovered this during work time, and he decided to confront the matter after working hours were over. He had gone through the usual walking out of the hub and out in to the Millennium square before he mentioned it. Tosh had blushed in embarrassment and explained that it was only a friendly date. Owen hadn't bothered to hide the fact that he was hurt when he spoke, and it cut Tosh up inside to make him feel like that. But then she had gotten annoyed with him, saying that she didn't belong to him and that she had the right to date anyone she wanted to. Owen had begun asking what about all that they had done together, and if it meant nothing to her. Tosh shouted back if it meant anything to him, either. Owen remembered the way that tears were almost flowing down Tosh's face, and how he had said, 'I thought we were…you know...friends.' The instant he had said it, he knew it wasn't he had meant to say. Tosh didn't say anything and she turned around and walked away from him. Owen just wanted to follow her and explain, but he knew that their connection was broken. Shattered.

And Owen hated that. He remembered that that night, he had been stressing himself over the thought of Tosh being with someone else. So he did the only thing he could think of at that time: he went and hid himself behind various sex partners, and Tosh engrossed herself in computers and Torchwood.

Owen suddenly realised that he still hated it. He had never gotten any satisfaction out of the meaningless sex that he had. He had pushed all the important memories of Tosh out of his mind in order to protect himself, and he knew that Tosh had done the same.

Looking over at the little sleeping Tosh, he saw that she was frowning in her sleep. Could she be having a nightmare? Silently, Owen moved closer to her and as carefully as he could, he leaned over and kissed her lightly on her forehead. He watched as she relaxed a little and a small smile spread across her lips.

Owen yawned widely and, settling himself down, he allowed himself to fall asleep, too.

--

"So, Jack is convinced that the Doctor will be able to help Tosh and Owen?" Gwen asked as they climbed the stairs up to Ianto's apartment.

"Yes. The Doctor has had a lot of experience in different areas of technology, science and alien artefacts, so I'm positive that he'll be able to at least give us an idea of how to deal with Tosh and Owen," Ianto said.

They had spent about half an hour in the meeting room explaining to the Doctor and Rose what had happened to their team mates. The Doctor had looked amused at first but then he began planning out the different types of tests he could do. So, Ianto and Gwen had been told to take the SUV and bring the toddlers to Torchwood, where Ianto was sure the Doctor was playing about with Owen's medical equipment.

"Here we are," Ianto said as they reached his door. He took out his key and opened it. As he walked in he called out, "Hello?"

"Tosh? Owen?" Gwen called after there was no response. Ianto shrugged and began looking around his apartment. He didn't have to go far because as soon as he walked in to the living room he found them.

Gwen followed in after him and let out a small 'aw' at what she saw.

Owen was sitting back on the sofa, and Tosh had her head rested against Owen's chest. One of Owen's arms was draped a little protectively around her, and both of them were sound asleep.

"Oh, I wish I had a camera with me," Gwen said, cooing at the sight of them.

Ianto gave a little smile and removed a shiny digital camera from his jacket pocket. Gwen raised her eyebrows at him. "I've been looking for something to blackmail Owen with," Ianto explained.

--

"Do you have any idea how to fix it?" Jack asked the Doctor. They were currently in the TARDIS, and Jack was helping to carry some hi-tech equipment in to the hub, while Rose stood outside and kept a watch out for the others.

"I'm not sure," the Doctor admitted from under the grating floors. "The kind of process you've described usually involves using the same machine to reverse the effect. If I can get a hold of the main data-technology core from the machine, I could try reversing the polarity to turn them back to their normal age. Do you remember where the machine is?"

"It's in an old warehouse down an extremely dodgy street about 20 minutes away," Jack told him, helping to pick up a particularly heavy box. I'm not sure if we just turned the machine off or destroyed its circuits.

The Doctor appeared from beneath the TARDIS floor with some wires in his hand. "As long as you can get the data-tech core it should be okay." He pulled himself up to eye level with Jack. "If it can't be reversed, you going to have the job of a full-time carer," he joked.

"Ooh, I love your optimism," Jack responded.

At that moment Rose entered the TARDIS. "Gwen and Ianto are back with the kids," she said. "They're down in the medical area."

"Righto, let's get this started with," the Doctor said, picking up a few more bits of equipment and walking out the doors, Jack and Rose close behind him.

Down in the medical area Tosh was sitting alongside Owen on the medical table. Owen was currently muttering something about it being ridiculous that he's not allowed to touch his own medical equipment.

The Doctor set down the equipment that he was carrying and turned around to face the toddlers. His eyes immediately fell on Toshiko. "Dr Toshiko Sato!" he said happily, a big smile on his face. "It's been a long time."

Owen felt Tosh flinch slightly beside him and he repressed the urge to tell the man to shut up. Instead he just asked, "You've met?"

"It was a long time ago," the Doctor said, beginning to tinker with the equipment. "The day that Big Ben was hit and an alien spaceship crashed in to the river. I was there when she was studying the pig slave."

Tosh frowned uncertainly before saying, "Doctor?"

"Hello!" he replied, waving.

"But you look so different," Tosh said.

"Well…I changed my face- it's a long story," the Doctor said, now hooking the equipment up to a power source.

"Hang on a minute," Gwen said, studying Tosh. "You just spoke English."

"No I didn't," Tosh said, shaking her head.

"You just did it again," Owen told her.

"It's the TARDIS," Jack said to them.

"Yeah, it like, gets inside your head and translates human and alien languages for you," Rose agreed.

"Hm, interesting," Ianto said.

"It gets better," Jack assured him.

"I know," Ianto said to him. "Some nights, it's all you talk about."

"What, he talks about another man when he's in bed?" Gwen asked, astounded.

"And women."

"No way!"

"Yes, and one time he-"

Jack decided to clear his throat very loudly at the moment. Ianto and Gwen fell silent, and Rose was looking amusedly between Jack and Ianto.

"Right, all set!" the Doctor said, observing the layout of equipment before him. "Let's get this over with."

--

It was an hour or two later before the Doctor had performed all the tests he thought necessary and gathered up all his results. Everyone then went back to the meeting room and sat around the table waiting for the Doctor to explain what he had found.

"The transformation isn't permanent," the Doctor began, earning sighs of relief from the two toddlers. "Once the data-tech core is retrieved from the machine that caused this, and after a bit of fiddling about, of course, your condition can be reversed. Now, about your condition," the Doctor stopped and smiled at the temporary children.

"Is there something wrong with them?" Jack asked.

"Nothing at all," the Doctor said, amused. "It's just the way that the body of a child and the mind of an adult have been contrasted. They still retain all their memories, but since their brain is not as developed now, the memories keep getting jumbled around. It can bring up old memories that you forgot or pushed out of your mind, and it can also trigger certain ways that you behaved at that particular age. You've probably been acting a little more child-like than usual, with some personality traits that you never had, or ones that you used to have. Any of this sound familiar?"

"Yes," Owen said. Tosh just nodded, and Owen threw a worried glance at her.

"So when will you be able to retrieve this data core thing?" Rose asked.

The Doctor looked to Jack, who said: "Tomorrow. Right now, I think the kids need some sleep." Everyone looked to see little Tosh yawning widely and Owen just suppressing his own yawn.

"I'm not tired," Owen lied.

"You have the energy of a five-year old," the Doctor told him. "And it's way past your bed time."

Owen resolved to stick his tongue out at the Doctor.

Everybody got out of their chairs and made their way back in to the hub, where Gwen asked "Where will they stay tonight?"

"Owen can stay at my place," Ianto said.

"I can't bring Tosh to mine," Gwen said apologetically. "Rhys won't have it."

"Tosh could stay with me," Jack said.

Tosh, who had been standing next to Owen, suddenly clasped her little hand in his, terrified.

"There's plenty of room in the TARDIS," the Doctor said. "She could stay in one of the spare rooms we have."

Owen felt Tosh shift to stand behind him, still clasping his hand, and he suddenly realised what was wrong.

"She might be more comfortable staying with a girl," Gwen said. "I could phone Rhys and ask if it's okay-"

"STOP IT!" Owen shouted at them, and they all looked down at him. "You're scaring her!"

Everyone looked and saw that Tosh was hiding behind Owen, clasping his hand, with tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked firmly.

"She's staying with me!" Owen said angrily. "You're not splitting us up. We're staying with each other." Owen knew he was being childishly stubborn, but hadn't the Doctor said that was part of the transformation?

"If you want to stay together," the Doctor began, carefully, "there's plenty of room in the TARDIS…"

"No! We're staying here!" Owen rounded on the Doctor. "She won't want to be in some strange, unknown place!"

"But Tosh would enjoy being in the TARDIS," Ianto said gently. "She loves technological stuff."

"NO!" Owen all but screamed. "We're staying here!"

"Owen," Jack said sternly. "What has gotten in to you?"

Owen didn't reply; he just glared at Jack.

"Right," Jack said, "My office, **now**." His tone showed that there was to be no arguing.

Owen looked uncertainly at Tosh, who nodded and let go of Owen's hand. She shuffled away a little and stood between Gwen and Rose, almost hiding again. Owen turned around and followed Jack up to his office.

Once inside, Jack locked the door and turned round to face Owen, who was pointedly looking away.

"Right, Owen," Jack began, his tone cold and harsh, "I didn't think it would get to the point where I had to talk down to you, but you're being childish and stubborn now. You will tell me what's wrong." Owen still didn't answer. "OWEN!"

Owen's eyes snapped up to make contact with Jack's, who had to withhold his shock at what he saw in those eyes: knowledge way behind his current state, frustration, anger and pain- something a five-year-old shouldn't have concealed.

Jack sighed and crouched down so that he was at Owen's height. "What is it?" he asked in a gentler tone.

"It's Tosh," Owen mumbled.

Jack nodded. "What about Toshiko?" he prompted, softly.

"Do you remember how we used to be really close?" Jack nodded again. "It's something that she confessed to me back then. She told me not to tell anyone…but she seems to want me to tell now." Owen sighed before he continued. "The Doctor said that this transformation has probably brought back memories and behaviour patterns that we had at this age, and… well… when Tosh was four years old… she was abused by her dad."

Jack started at that. He knew most things about the past of his co-workers, but learning that Toshiko had had a rough background came as a shock to him. No one would have thought that the sweet and kind Tosh would have gone through something like abuse.

"She said that he kept hitting her," Owen continued. "When something went wrong, she'd get hurt. He didn't do anything else, just beat her. It was a few months before her mum found out, and then she and Tosh left her dad. Tosh told me that she become nervous around all men, scared that they were going to hurt her like her dad had."

Jack's eyes widened as he understood. Since Tosh had been transformed to probably her most vulnerable age, the horrible memories must have come flooding back to her. All the hurt and pain and fear put upon her once more. It explained why she became so quiet, something that Jack had passed off as shyness but what he now realised was nervousness. Nervous at being around _him_ because he was male. It explained how she was self-conscious when she saw Ianto after coming back from that damn investigation, and how she flinched every time the Doctor did some tests on her…and why she became scared when they were talking about where she could stay that night…

_Jack_ had said that Tosh could stay with him.

_The_ _Doctor_ said that there was room for her on the TARDIS.

Gwen said that she could ask _Rhys_ if it was okay for Tosh to stay with them…

…Regardless of how well Tosh knew the guys in her team, she was now scared of them because that was how it would have been when she was four. Scared of all males, except…

"She's not frightened of you," Jack pointed out.

Owen shrugged as if it didn't mean anything, but Jack saw past it. "She trusts me, s'all. She confided in me all those years ago… and I said I'd protect her…"

Jack smiled at Owen. "I knew you were a good person," he said, ruffling Owen's hair.

Owen scowled at Jack.

"Come on," Jack said to him, getting up off the floor. "Let's go back down to the others."

--

Toshiko sat silently as Rose and Gwen conversed with each other. The Doctor had gone off to see if he could find any clothes for Owen and Tosh to change in to for the night, and Ianto had gone away to make some more coffee.

Tosh was frequently glancing up at the glass window of Jack's office, but she failed in seeing anything. Sighing slightly, she pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs. She wasn't sure exactly how Owen was going to tell Jack…or if he was going to saw how Owen himself had found out…

_Four Years Ago_

_It was about 11:30pm, and Owen was in Tosh's apartment, having a beer with her. It was raining outside and they hadn't felt like running around to find a pub, so they decided to go to Tosh's place instead since it was closer than Owen's. _

_Owen was laid back, listening as Tosh told him about her home in Japan and about her mother and her family. After a while and looking at the pictures of said family spread out across her living room, Owen began to wonder something._

"_Tosh?" he asked, when she had stopped to sip some beer. "You've been talking about your mother and other relatives…what about your father."_

_Tosh froze and Owen immediately knew that he had unknowingly hit on a sensitive subject._

_Tosh looked a little uncertain before she replied. "I…I haven't seen or spoke to my father since I was four." _

_Owen noted the choked up way Tosh had spoke and how she wasn't making eye contact. "Why?" he asked, gently._

_Tosh shook her head. "It's… it's not important," she said, and Owen saw as Tosh began to shake a little. He moved across the sofa and carefully put an arm around her. "I've never talked to anyone about it…not even my mother."_

_Owen rubbed her shoulder soothingly. "Maybe it's about time you did," he told her. "I'm listening."_

_Tosh nodded and Owen could see the tears building up in her eyes. "It started when my mother was out shopping," she began. "My father had had a bad day at work, and in his frustration…he took it out on me. He was shouting and ranting, and I was so scared. That was when he struck me for the first time." A small sob escaped her lips. "He blamed for what had happened that day, and I had no idea what had happened to him. I just hoped that it wouldn't happen again…but it did._

"_He began to hit me frequently, but always when my mother was out of the house. It was so painful…he didn't show any mercy, just kept blaming me for his mistakes. And he always threatened to me against not telling my mother." At this point, Tosh began to cry, and Owen pulled her into an embrace. "When she would come home, I'd smile and then run into a different part of the house so she wouldn't see me cry. He never did anything else other than beat me._

"_Then one day, when he was out of the house, mother found me sitting hidden in my closest, crying. When she asked me what was wrong, I told her it was nothing. She managed to get me out of the closest but noticed that I winced with almost every movement I made. She quickly pushed up the long sleeves I had on and screamed when she saw the marks and bruises there." Owen began to rock her gently as her tears became heavier. "I couldn't do anything as she checked the other and found the same. Then she pushed back the fringe that had been covering my left eye and saw the bruise there, too. When…when she asked me who did it, I began to cry so hard because I knew that if I told her, then he would do something terrible to me. But she held me and tried to soothe me, and I eventually got the courage to tell her that it was him._

"_She didn't need to hear it twice. Mother immediately began packing our bags, and within half an hour we had left the house. She left a note telling him that she knew what he had been doing, and to stay away from us."_

_Tosh began to sniffle, and Owen reached her a tissue. She took it, blew her nose and then continued again. "We moved far away from him. He never found us again. But I was terrified of men. I hadn't seen other men besides him in my first years, and I was scared that they were all going to hurt me too. I wouldn't let go of mother's hand whenever we were in public, and I would always stay as close to her as I possibly could. It took over a year with a lot of counselling to help me be less scared of all men. After that I engrossed myself in school studies to keep my mind off it. Mother and I never talked of what had happened."_

"_What about now?" Owen asked as he continued to cuddle her, rubbing her back lightly._

_Tosh hiccoughed slightly. "Sometimes, I think he's going to find me and hurt me again," she admitted. "There are nightmares that never go away, and when I wake up I think that he's in the room, waiting to punish me…"_

_Owen nodded; understanding that traumatic events like that leaves memories in the sub-conscience. "The next time you get one of these nightmares," he told her, not letting her go, "I want you to call me. I don't care what time it is, okay? Don't sit here on your own, terrified."_

_Tosh nodded. "Thank you."_

_Owen smiled and kissed her forehead lightly. "It's what I'm here for. Don't worry; I'll protect you."_

…Owen had told her that she had fallen asleep not long after that. He carried her into her room and tucked her into bed. That night, he had slept on the sofa, in case the nightmares chose to come after she confessed it all to him. Tosh smiled a little, remembering how supportive it was, just him being there with her, and how she had felt relieved to have talked it out with someone who she wasn't related to and she trusted.

She was broken out of her musings by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. She looked up and saw Jack and Owen descending down the stairs towards them. Tosh stood up and as Owen approached her, took her hand and smiled encouragingly.

Gwen looked up at Jack, as did Ianto and the Doctor, who had entered the room again whilst Tosh was thinking.

Jack looked at them all for a moment. "They stay here, together," he told them, and was glad to see the smile that graced Tosh's features. Jack carefully approached Tosh, and he saw her squeeze Owen's hand tighter. When Jack was down at eye level with her, he gently asked: "Is it okay if I tell everyone else?"

Tosh seemed startled for a while, but after a few seconds she nodded assuredly. Jack smiled at her and told everyone to go to the meeting room. The Doctor pointed out some nightclothes that he had brought back from the TARDIS for the two of them and Jack indicated that they should put them on whilst the others talked.

Tosh sighed as she watched the guys leave, and then became surprised as Owen pulled her in for hug. After a moment Tosh relaxed and hugged him back.

--

When the others came back out of the meeting room, they were met with the sight of Tosh and Owen dressed in the pyjamas that the Doctor had got for them. The girls 'aw-ed' at Tosh, who was wearing pink pyjamas with little white sheep on them. The men just rolled their eyes at them. Owen was wearing some plain black pyjamas.

Ianto and the Doctor were now keeping their distance from Tosh, now in the knowledge of how uncomfortable it made her. Tosh was grateful for it, but also guilty that she had to do this to them.

It was pretty late at night now, so the Doctor and Rose retired to the TARDIS, hand-in-hand, and Gwen departed after giving Tosh a reassuring hug.

"Ianto, how about you stay here tonight?" Jack asked him, as the tea-boy began gathering up discarded coffee mugs from earlier on.

Ianto seemed hesitant in answering. "If it's not too much trouble, sir," he replied.

"It's no trouble at all," Jack told him, and then added in a lower tone as he walked past him, "And you can drop the 'sir' for later on."

Ianto smiled and blushed a little. Owen made a noised of disgust while Tosh just giggled. Jack walked in to his office and returned a moment later with some blankets.

"Come on," he said to Owen and Tosh. "You two can sleep in the lounge tonight."

They followed Jack further down in to the hub to the area where the team would usually take a nap if they had the time. There were two large sofas opposite each other there with lots of comfortable cushions piled onto each one. Jack threw a blanket on to each sofa.

"Right, get to bed," Jack told them, suddenly feeling like a parent. "Ianto and I will check in on you every now and then. If we come down and find you two up and about we'll put you in to different rooms."

"And if we hear strange noises coming from _your_ room," Owen countered, "I'll be phoning ChildLine and complain that our guardian is having sex while infants are in the vicinity."

Tosh couldn't help the giggling that escaped her this time. Jack smiled a little at the sound and fixed Owen with playful glare. "Just get some sleep," he told them, before he exited the lounge.

As soon as Jack had left, Tosh let out a huge yawn which Owen immediately reacted too. "Jack's right, you need to get some sleep."

"I'm not the only one who's dead tired," Tosh said, the first real sentence that Owen had heard her speak since they were transformed. She clambered up on to one of the sofas while Owen climbed up on to the opposite one. He pulled the blanket over himself and turned to face Tosh, who did the same. "Do you think we'll get changed back?" she asked as she stifled another yawn.

Owen shrugged as well as he could whilst lying on his side. "I don't know," he said, "but the Doctor seems to think this can be reversed. I don't fancy going through puberty again, thanks. All those zits that I got…"

Tosh laughed at him and snuggled deeper down in to her blanket. "I hope we get changed back," she told him. "I miss working at my computer."

Owen snorted. "Of all the things to miss about being an adult…" He watched as Tosh laughed and then yawned again. "Will you be alright tonight?" he asked her.

Tosh nodded, a little uncertainly. "Why?"

"Well, you've remembered some stuff today that you would rather forget," Tosh nodded in understanding, "…and that can cause those memories to be pushed to the front of your mind. There might be a chance of you having that nightmare tonight." He saw Tosh's eyes go wide open as she froze with fear. "Shit," Owen muttered. He shimmed off the sofa and moved over to the one Tosh was on. He got up onto it and lay down beside her; because of their current size, there was plenty of room for them each. "I didn't mean to scare you," Owen told her, now much closer to her and he saw her blush lightly. "I just thought you should be warned…"

Tosh nodded again. Then she seemed to sigh, a little sadly.

"What's wrong?" Owen asked, frowning.

"I've missed this," Tosh replied honestly.

Owen knew that Tosh was talking about the times they had spent one-on-one with each other before the big fight. Suddenly, in that moment, Owen realised that he had missed all the late nights they had spent together, talking, sometimes ending up asleep on the sofa in either of their apartments. The nights out in the bars, restaurants, the walks they had taken in the late of night…

Owen smiled genuinely at Tosh. "Yeah," he replied to her, and he leaned forwards and kissed her lightly on her forehead, "me too."

Tosh blushed even more, and tears began to cloud her eyes at the familiar, yet at the same time, unfamiliar, gesture. "Will you stay here tonight?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," Owen said, and he got underneath the blanket too. "I will, in case the nightmares come."

Tosh smiled gratefully and snuggled down in to the blanket again. "Thank you," she whispered as she started to nod off.

As Tosh began to fall asleep beside him, many thoughts started to run through Owen's head. This transformation has given him and Tosh the chance to reconnect as friends, awaking the dormant feelings that he had always held for Tosh but ones that he had tried to blank out over the past few years. He was almost completely sure that Tosh still felt the same way for him, going by the way she would look at him that would immediately make him feel guilty for his hurtful, arrogant actions. If he hadn't been such an ass that night when he picked a fight with her…maybe they would have been more than friends now. One thing was for sure though, Owen decided as Tosh sub-consciously snuggled into his chest, when their condition was fixed, he was definitely going to make things up to her.

_Bloody hell_, Owen thought as he put an arm around Tosh and closed his eyes, _this transformation's made me go soft again._

And, honestly? Owen didn't mind.

12345onceicaughtafishalive678910theniletitgoagain

**elmo-doodle: **so, that's the first chapter of my first deep Torchwood fanfiction. im still amazed at how it turned out to be 8000+ words, when i can't even get my english literature coursework to stretch to 1700 words. hmmm, befuddlement.

anywho, reviews are literally what keeps a fanfiction author going, so every last comment really makes a difference to helping write the next chapter! all flames will be used to burn holes in my crummy english coursework.


	2. Part Two

**elmo-doodle: **it's here!! the next installment of Those Younger Days! it took a little while to get back in to the flow after watching the last episode of Torchwood, but i'm back to writing! YEAH!! this chapter is dedicated to hatedlane2000, who i've been PM-ing; i hope you're feeling better after Exit Wounds now!

**warnings: **um... well, there's no swearing, i think ... implied slash (again). romance. more fluff!

**spoilers:** a little spoiler for Captain Jack's first episode in Doctor Who

**DISCLAIMER:** if it doesn't belong to you, don't touch it - so i'm playing with the Torchwood characters at a distance

**THOSE YOUNGER DAYS**

**PART TWO**

It was the flash of light that woke Owen and Tosh up the next morning. They both grumbled a little, followed by a curse from Owen when he saw Ianto and Jack standing above them, a camera in Ianto's hand. Jack was smiling mischievously.

"Bloody hell, Jack," Owen had shouted while Jack laughed.

They were now sitting in the kitchen inside the hub, eating toast and drinking orange juice.

"Did you sleep okay?" Owen asked, after a long period of silence.

Tosh nodded. "The nightmares didn't come."

"I'm glad," Owen replied, honestly, and Tosh gave him a genuine smile. "Say, Tosh," Owen began, shifting himself around a bit so that he could face her, "after this whole thing is sorted out, what do you say we go get a drink together?"

Tosh's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

Owen nodded. "Yeah, really," and then he added, a little more quietly, "just like old times."

Tosh visibly brightened at this. "Yes," she replied. "I'd like to."

Owen smiled at her, and saw Tosh flinch slightly as Ianto walked in to the kitchen.

"Jack says to come to the meeting room," Ianto told them, standing just inside the kitchen door so as not too scare Tosh too much. "We're going to discuss what to do."

Owen and Tosh nodded and proceeded to exit the kitchen, Owen taking hold of Tosh's hand again as she walked a distance behind Ianto. "You know there's nothing to be afraid of, right?" he whispered to her.

Tosh nodded. "I just can't help it," she whispered back, eyes downcast. "I feel so bad that Jack and Ianto have to stay away to make me feel comfortable. I know they're not going to hurt me, but it's just the way my mind was set when I was four."

Owen clasped his hand tighter around Tosh's, like how he used to do when they would go out for the night after work at Torchwood. They had never questioned each other about it- it was just part of the friendship that they had developed.

When they entered the meeting room, Tosh and Owen took the seats next to Gwen and Rose, who were sitting at the opposite end of the table from Jack, Ianto and the Doctor.

"The Doctor, Ianto and I are going to go to the warehouse and bring back part of the machine," Jack told them all. "We shouldn't be long, depending on how hard it will be to detach the data-tech core from it. When we get back, we'll see what to do about it, and the safest way to reverse the effect on Toshiko and Owen."

"What will we do in the mean time?" Gwen asked him. "Is there anything we can do here at the hub?"

"Actually," Jack began, "I was hoping that you and Rose could take the kids out in to the town."

Tosh shifted a little uncomfortably.

"But, is that okay?" Rose asked, looking worriedly over at Toshiko. "Will you be okay out there?"

Tosh nodded a little shakily, but smiled when Owen took her hand reassuringly. "I'll be fine," she said, quietly.

"I can wash your clothes from yesterday, if you want to wear them again today," Ianto offered, helpfully.

"Oh, no need to do that," the Doctor said, cheerfully. "There's a wardrobe room in the TARDIS. There's plenty of stuff in there for them to choose from."

Tosh frowned. "How can a wardrobe fit inside such a small box?" she asked, quite confidently, which surprised Owen. He was sure it was the physicist side coming out of her again.

The Doctor grinned and said, "I'll show you."

--

"Whoa." Toshiko looked up at the huge ceiling in awe. She twirled around on the spot a little, trying to take it all in at once. The TARDIS, which had looked smaller than a public photo booth, was huge and cavernous inside. At the other side of the room she was currently in she could see there was a corridor, stretching further in to the impossible reaches of reality. "How does it do this?"

"The inside of the TARDIS is in a different dimension to the outside," he explained to her. He was standing at the doorway to the TARDIS and was watching as Tosh ventured further in to the console room, Owen close by her.

"What dimension is the inside in?" she asked, now gazing in wonder at the complex console.

The Doctor puffed out a breath and looked at his companion. "No-one's ever asked me that question before," he mused. "I'm not even sure of the answer myself…"

"It's magnificent," Tosh said, and for a moment, Owen could see the computer-geeky adult Tosh shining through her eyes.

"That she is," the Doctor said, stroking a nearby wall affectionately. The TARDIS hummed in contentment. "Rose, will you take Gwen, Owen and Toshiko up to the wardrobe room?"

"Yeah, sure," Rose said, laughing as she had to pull Gwen out of her daze from being inside the TARDIS. "Come on, we've got to get these two sorted."

"It's just…it's bigger on the inside…," Gwen mumbled, a little faintly.

Rose led them through several winding corridors before finally coming across a set of tall, winding stairs… and to Tosh and Owen, they looked pretty steep.

Rose and Gwen began the ascent, but Tosh and Owen looked uncertainly at each other before trying to get up the first step. After failing, Owen called out miserably, "We can't get up."

Tosh nodded. "Help us!"

Rose and Gwen turned around, and Gwen giggled. "This must be so humiliating for you, Owen," Gwen said.

Owen scowled at her. Gwen and Rose descended the few steps that they had climbed.

"Do you mind if I hold you?" Rose asked Tosh.

Tosh shook her head, and held on as Rose scooped her up in to her arms.

Gwen looked mockingly at Owen.

"I swear," he warned her, "if you tell ANYONE about this, I will kill you."

Gwen stifled a laugh and picked up Owen, resting him on her hip as she carried him up the stairs.

"How many stairs do we have to climb?" Gwen questioned and they ascended their third flight.

"This should be the last set," Rose said. "The TARDIS likes to move things around occasionally. Just last week, she rearranged the bedrooms and I ended up walking in to the library, in nothing but shorts and a vest top, where the Doctor was reading a book."

Gwen laughed. "You two seem pretty close," she commented.

Rose blushed a little. "Nah. The Doctor and I, we're just friends, is all. Things like romance is a little too domestic for him."

"You never know," Gwen told her. "Things could change."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

They had finally reached the floor which had the smaller items of clothing on it. "Right," Rose said, setting Toshiko down again. "Let's get these two sorted."

--

"You know who you and Rose remind me of?"

"Hmm?"

"Owen and Toshiko."

The Doctor put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. "What makes you say that?"

"A few years ago, Owen and Toshiko had an unspoken love between them," Jack said. "They never confronted each other about it, and they never had the chance to, not after a huge fight that they had. That fight managed to tear their friendship apart."

"And how does that remind you of Rose and me?"

"I thought the 'unspoken love' part would have given it away."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at Jack. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on, Doc," Jack said, getting slightly annoyed with the man sitting in front of him. "I've seen the way you two look at each other when you think no-one else is watching. Ever since you first took me on board the TARDIS, you were practically sending out warnings saying, 'Do not touch her. She's mine'."

The Doctor looked at him in disbelief. "I did not!"

"You did!" Jack countered. "You wouldn't even let another man look at her in that way. And you're bound to have noticed the way she gets jealous when another woman shows any interest in you."

The Doctor sighed and put a hand over his face. "It's dangerous territory, Jack," he said. "I put up so many walls, so many defences around me just to stop myself from falling in love again… but she's managed to break down every last one."

Jack grinned triumphantly. "I knew you loved her. What are you going to do?"

"What can I do?" The Doctor stared a little helplessly at his friend. "I might scare her off; she might want to go back home to her mum and stay there. I can't risk loosing her like that."

"You should tell her before its too late."

"I know, Jack. I know."

--

Jack, Ianto and the Doctor left soon after Gwen and Rose had come back with the changed Tosh and Owen. Since it was sunny and warm outside, Tosh was wearing a light pink dress with white tights and matching pink shoes. Rose had also let Tosh's hair down and put a little flowery clip in at the front to keep her fringe out of her eyes. Owen was dressed in dark-cream coloured trousers, a shirt and a denim jacket.

Tosh and Owen followed behind Gwen and Rose as they left the hub. It was a beautiful day to be outside and the sun was shining brightly overhead. A cool breeze swept over them as they exited the tourist office and stepped outside. Owen immediately took hold of Tosh's hand once she saw all the people crossing the Millennium centre.

"You okay?" Owen asked her as they stood behind Gwen and Rose.

"I think so," Tosh replied, her eyes travelling over the many people that were about. "I keep reminding myself that I'm safe now, so I should be fine." As she said this, she visibly flinched as a man walked just past them.

Owen sighed and tugged her hand gently so that they followed behind Gwen and Rose. "Don't worry," Owen told her as they headed towards the shopping centre, "I won't let go of your hand, so no one will be able to hurt you without me knowing."

Tosh smiled gratefully at Owen and moved to walk a bit closer to him, though not because she was frightened.

--

Jack, Ianto and the Doctor carefully entered the warehouse and Jack directed them on which side of the building they should walk on, so they could avoid being in range of the machine.

"What are the chances of your plan working, Doc?" Jack asked as they slowly made their way along the wall.

"It's a pretty accurate plan," the Doctor replied. "Reversing the polarity won't be a problem. So, in theory, it should work."

"'In theory'?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow at the older man.

"Well, I've never done something like this before," the Doctor said in defence.

"So," Ianto began, as they moved away from the wall at Jack's command, "the future of Tosh and Owen depends on an untested theory?"

The Doctor sighed and moved around to the back of the machine. "I'm going to try the best that I can," he said as he sonicked the back panel off.

"We know, Doc," Jack said, moving up beside him. Together they hauled the back panel off the rest of the machine and the Doctor began poking around inside. "Do you know what the data-tech core will look like?"

"Roughly," the Doctor replied. "Most machines have similar cores in them; some haven't got any cores in them at all! Those are the hardest ones to work with- I remember one time Rose and I were on a planet that was made from metal and we were told that one of the machines which kept the planet running had a bug in it and we were asked to find that machine and terminate the bug. Well, since the whole planet was made of machines you can imagine-"

"Doctor!" Jack said, interrupting him. The Doctor looked up at Jack with confusion. "You were rambling again."

"Ah, quite right, sorry," the Doctor said, and he returned to pulling at bits of machinery.

Ianto looked over to Jack and quirked his eyebrows at him. Jack grinned back.

"Found it!" The Doctor began pulling something out of the machine with great effort. "Blimey, it's tricky." He heaved it out for a few seconds more before tumbling back with the force as he pulled the core free. Jack hurriedly went to help him get back on to his feet, and the Doctor dusted himself down.

"You got it?" Jack asked, looking expectantly for a large piece of technology.

"Yup," the Doctor replied, popping the 'p'. "Here," he held up a small, circular ball, no bigger than a marble, composed of metal with intricate and complicated designs written over it.

"…that's it?" Ianto asked. Jack's frown showed he agreed with him.

"Oi, don't knock it! Size isn't everything you know- and _that_," the Doctor said, pointed a finger at the grinning Jack Harkness, "is not an invitation for an innuendo."

"Doc, you take all the fun out of life," Jack said, feigning hurt.

"Whatever it takes to keep your mind clean," the Doctor said as he began to exit the warehouse.

"Not possible," Ianto said, following behind.

--

Gwen, Rose, Owen and Tosh were in one of the local parks, about 20 minutes away from the hub. It was a nice, secluded area with only other mothers and children about. Tosh had immediately felt relaxed when she saw that there were no grown men around her, and she had boldly let go of Owen's hand (something he had secretly pouted over) and began to wander on the grass. Owen followed her at a distance, unsure if she would want him invading her space right now.

Gwen and Rose sat on a nearby bench, chatting with each other. They had taken Tosh and Owen on a walk around the town, and had stopped to get lunch in one of the local restaurants. Rose had suggested that maybe it would be good for Tosh and Owen to play in the park for a while, among other children. Gwen, agreeing, had led them there. Now, they were sat watching carefully over the two.

"I never knew Owen was such an adorable kid," Gwen said, watching Owen hover uncertainly behind Tosh. It was very cute, actually, seeing him being so nervous around Tosh instead of his usual cocky self. "And neither of them had mentioned that they used to be really close." She frowned. "I thought I knew everything about her. We're good friends and we talk to each other about everything, but… to know now that she had this big secret hidden away in her life… it makes me wonder how many secrets everyone else has."

"Was Tosh happy when you were with her, y'know, before she changed in to a kid?" Rose asked her.

"Well… yes. It strikes me odd that she doesn't have any emotional scars from her childhood existing in her adult life."

They watched as Owen carefully moved closer to Tosh, who bent down to pick something up from the grass.

"Maybe Owen helped her to heal," Rose said, looking over at Gwen.

"Maybe," Gwen answered back. She sighed. "When I first came to Torchwood, I couldn't see any relationship between them. Although they did have a sort of understanding of each other, and occasionally they would finish each other's sentences, or would be able to word what the other is trying to say."

They watched as Owen finally approached Tosh, who turned around when she sensed his presence. They saw Tosh say something to Owen and hand a small flower to him. Owen took it and, before she turned away, Tosh stood up on her tip-toes and planted a light kiss on Owen's cheek. Rose grinned as she watched Toshiko giggle and scamper away, and Gwen laughed a little in amusement as she saw Owen smile and follow after Tosh.

"This transformation seems to be making them reconnect," Gwen said as she watched them play. "I'm happy for them- Tosh especially deserves someone special in her life."

"Do you have someone like that?" Rose asked her.

Gwen sighed and smiled. "I have Rhys," she told Rose. "He knows what my work at Torchwood is and I've put him through all the crap that I've had to go through, yet he still stays with me."

Rose smiled knowingly at her. "You love him," she said, slightly teasingly.

Gwen smiled back at her. "Very much so. You love the Doctor."

It wasn't a question, but Gwen still got an answer when Rose blushed.

"It's just… difficult," Rose told her.

"How?"

"Well, he's a Time Lord. He could live for hundreds more years, while I'll be lucky if I even reach a tenth of his age now! I'll get old and wither, and he'll still be living on."

Gwen paused as she watched Rose close her eyes. "Is he worth it?"

Rose's eyes snapped open as she looked at Gwen. "Oh, god, yes!"

Gwen laughed and Rose soon joined her.

"Ooh, Rose, you have to tell me," Gwen suddenly said. "Do you have any good stories about Jack?"

Rose smiled, her eyes shining with mischief. "Depends what you mean by stories."

"Well, gossip, preferably," Gwen admitted.

Rose giggled and moved so that she was slightly facing Gwen. "When I first met him," she began, and Gwen listened intently, "he tried to con me while he flirted with me."

Gwen laughed. "Nothing new there."

"Hmm, what else? Oh! One time, Jack hit on a princess of some planet that was completely green, and he managed to get us all arrested for high treason!"

Rose laughed at Gwen's confused look.

"How did he manage that?!" she asked, bewildered.

"I don't know," Rose said, still giggling. "But where there's a Jack, there's a way!"

Rose and Gwen continued to share stories about their Captain while Owen and Tosh chased around each other.

"Tosh, slow down!" Owen called out to her as she ran several paces ahead of him. "You're going way to fast for someone your size!"

Tosh's laughter floated back to him. "Don't blame me just because you can't run fast enough!"

Owen watched Tosh's movements as she ran and he began to move diagonally to the left. Just as he had expected, Tosh took a left turn and Owen was finally able to catch up with her.

"Gotcha!" he called as he wrapped his arms around her. Tosh squealed in surprise as they both fell towards the ground. Owen, having anticipated the fall, made sure that he landed on the ground. He was therefore left with a giggling Tosh lying face-down on his chest while he laughed from underneath her.

"I'm glad to see you two are having fun."

Owen and Tosh looked up to see Jack standing above them, his eyebrows raised as he observed the children lying on the grass. Owen and Tosh immediately scrambled to their feet, brushing themselves down and looking slightly embarrassed.

"Ah, the 'I've-just-been-caught-with-my-hand-in-the-cookie-jar' expression," Jack said as he smiled at the two, who were purposefully avoiding his gaze. "You two are so cute together that I might just keep you this way."

Owen's eyes snapped up to lock with Jack's. "Why are you here?" he asked. "Aren't you supposed to be at the warehouse?"

"We've already been and got what we needed," Jack told them. "So, I traced Gwen's phone to see where she was, and since the park was on the route back to the hub we decided to stop here."

Tosh looked over and saw Ianto and the Doctor approaching Gwen and Rose. The Doctor greeted Rose with a hug, which she enthusiastically returned, and Gwen watched the knowingly. So did Ianto, who raised his eyebrows and turned to smile at Gwen.

"Come on," Jack said to Owen and Tosh. "The sooner we get back to the hub, the sooner we can get the two of you fixed."

--

When the team had returned to the hub, Jack and the Doctor had wandered off to fiddle about with the data-tech core, Gwen and Rose had gone to the lounge to chat, and Ianto was busying himself with making coffee.

Which left Owen and Tosh free to their own devices. Tosh had taken that chance to go on to her computer, although she did have to stand on the chair to be able to reach the keyboard and see what she was doing. Owen was sitting on the chair next to her, watching warily in case Tosh lost her balance. She had put her glasses on, and was continuously having to push them back up to the bridge of her nose.

"What are you doing?" Owen finally asked after the boredom became too much.

"I'm updating the rift monitor programme," Tosh replied, not taking her eyes off the computer screen.

Owen almost fell off his chair in shock. "Why?!"

"Because I'm _bored_, Owen!" she said. She gave a frustrated sigh, and turned to look at him. "This transformation has left us incapable to do anything, and unlike you, I'm not adapted to lying about being completely useless!"

Owen tried not to flinch at her words, but his hurt showed in his face. "You really think I'm useless?"

Tosh sighed and took her glasses off. She bent down to sit on the chair and turned to face Owen. "No," she said softly. "I don't think you're useless. I'm sorry, Owen, it was wrong of me to say that. I just hate that I feel this defenceless and frightened. I didn't mean what I said." She reached out and put a hand on Owen's knee. "Can you forgive me?" she asked, pouting a little. "Please?"

Owen knew she hadn't intended to be mean; everyone knew that a frustrated Tosh could say harsh, false things that wouldn't even cross her mind when she was stress-free. Still, Owen sighed dramatically and replied, "Yeah, Tosh, I forgive you."

Tosh giggled and Owen smiled back at her. "Still bored?" he asked.

Tosh nodded, and Owen jumped down off the chair. He took her hand and gently coaxed her off her own seat. "C'mon," he said. "I've got an idea." He pulled her over towards the direction of the invisible lift.

--

Gwen and Rose came up from the lounge a while later, carrying their coffee mugs with them. After a lot of talking with each other, they became curious as to what everyone else was up to. They headed down in to the medical bay to see how Jack and the Doctor were doing. They stood at the railings just above them, so as not to disturb their work too much.

Ianto had soon joined the other men after having finished his coffee rounds, and they were all working on reversing the effect of the data-tech core. The Doctor called out instructions to Jack, who obeyed them, and Ianto was fetching bits of equipment that were continuously needed. The Doctor had long discarded his long coat and his jacket and now his sleeves were rolled up, with his tie hanging loosely around his neck. Jack had just rolled up his sleeves, while Ianto had taken off his suit jacket, tie, and almost half of his upper buttons had been undone.

Gwen and Rose watched silently as the men, who had not noticed their presence, worked on.

"Three very attractive men," Gwen whispered, so as not to disturb them.

"Mm," Rose responded, giggling softly. "I can feel the heat from here."

"I bet that Jack's trying so hard not to suggest a euphemistic scenario."

"I wouldn't actually mind seeing something like that… it would be really… mmm!"

Gwen and Rose dissolved in to silent fits of laughter, and Gwen had to cover her mouth with her hand. They had looked back long enough to see Jack wink and place his hand on Ianto's behind, which just caused them to giggle out loud.

The three men, finally noticing that they were there all reacted differently. Jack glared at them for interrupting; Ianto blushed from embarrassment at being seen; and the Doctor beamed in delight at their presence.

"Hello!" he called up to them. "Finally stopped gossiping about me?"

"You are so big-headed," Rose called back, leaning over the bars again. "We're not always thinking about you!"

"Yeah, but I'm always the first thought on your mind," the Doctor said, winking at Rose.

Rose felt herself blush and she grinned back. Gwen giggled from beside her.

"Once you two are finished flirting," Jack asked, and Gwen rolled her eyes, "would you like to bring the kids down here? This thing's almost ready."

Gwen and Rose's eyes went wide. They looked at each other and then back at the men. "We thought you were watching them," Gwen said.

"How could we watch them?" Jack said, moving up the stairs. "We were busy fixing the machine core."

"So they are unsupervised?" Ianto asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Oh…" Gwen said.

"Hey, what's the worst that could happen?" the Doctor asked, joining them at the top of the stairs. "They can't get up to that much trouble, can they?"

Gwen, Jack and Ianto looked at each other before bolting off to the nearest computer.

"Gwen, pull up the CCTV footage of the past two hours and track their movements. Ianto, check the security system and see if any of the doors hade been activated since we arrived back."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "What's all the worry about?"

"Doc, they may have adult memories," Jack said, "but right now, they're kids. If an adult Toshiko and Owen are mischievous, I dread to think what toddler versions of them could get up to!"

--

"_Owen!!_"

Owen snickered and ran behind the water fountain as an angry Tosh got back to her feet and headed for him. She continued to chase him around until she finally got tired and collapsed in to the surrounding water.

"Given up?" Owen asked, sitting down beside her. "I thought you were faster than me," he teased.

"Yes, on _ground_," Tosh said, panting a little. "You've got longer legs so you can move faster in the water." She pouted. "Unfair."

They had been playing in the fountain for the past 45 minutes. The sun was still blazing up above them, so they hadn't minded about getting wet. They were sitting in the shallow end of the fountain, completely drenched from head to foot, but very entertained. Several people had 'aw-ed' at them as they past by, while others had attempted to ask them where their parents were.

"Do you think they're noticed that we're gone?" Tosh asked, leaning slightly against Owen.

"Nah. They're too absorbed in everything else to pay attention."

Tosh giggled. "What will they do when we come back all wet?"

Owen was about to reply when a voice spoke behind them.

"Oh, I can think of a few things."

Tosh and Owen froze, and slowly turned around to look up in to the face of Jack.

"Uh-oh," they both said.

"Yeah," Jack responded, smiling. "Uh-oh."

--

"What were you two thinking?" Jack asked as they were gathered in the medical bay.

Tosh and Owen were sitting on the table, still in their wet clothes and wrapped up in towels. They looked at each other momentarily before Owen replied, "We…got bored."

"So you decided to play in the _fountain_?"

Owen shrugged.

Jack sighed. "Anything could have happened up there. You could have been hurt. You could have attracted unwanted attention. You could have been kidnapped."

Owen glared at Jack as Tosh shuddered slightly.

"We were fine," Owen said defensively. "It's not like you were overly concerned about us- you just left us alone in hub; a lot more dangerous than leaving us outside."

Tosh nodded. "Yes."

Jack scowled and looked behind him. "Doc, is that machine ready yet? I'd like to have these two changed back so I don't get arrested for child abuse while I throttle them."

"Yup," the Doctor said, connecting one last wire and the machine started to glow blue. "Finito! Right, everyone get behind me; I doubt any of you will want to be transformed. Plus, with the polarity reversed, who knows what age you might end up as."

Everyone rushed to stand behind the Doctor in case they were caught by the unpredictable machinery.

"Okay, you shouldn't feel a thing," the Doctor assured Tosh and Owen. They both nodded, and Tosh reached out for Owen's hand.

"Okay, here we go. Three, two, one…"

A blue light erupted from the machine and encased Tosh and Owen in it. Everyone had to shield their eyes against the glare, and a few seconds later, it had stopped.

"Bloody hell," Owen said, as he got off the medical table, back to his correct age. "It's a good thing that worked- I was getting annoyed with the lack of activity." He frowned slightly as he saw that everyone was looking at something beside him.

"It didn't completely work," Ianto said, when no-one else spoke up.

Owen looked to were everyone else's attention was focused. "Ah," he admonished.

There on the table sat Toshiko, looking around in confusion.

She hadn't changed back.

--

well, what do you think? after realising that this story wouldn't fit in to one part, i decided to make it two. now, i'm just going to admit that this could very well last until a fourth part, hehe. it just expands!!

please leave me a review :D


	3. Part Three

**elmo-doodle: **hello! i'm so sorry that it's taken so long for me to update! i haven't felt inspired to write a ToshOwen piece since Exit Wounds. but, after watching more Torchwood episodes and reading the books, i've finally returned to Those Younger Days! this is just a short chapter to let you all know that i haven't abandoned this story! so here we go, a shiney new chapter (typed on a shiney new laptop) and all ready to go! *sigh* it's so good to get back to writing after exams and such in school. i've gone so crazy that i'm actually watching High School Musical 2... tough times...

**DISCLAIMER: **I. DON'T. OWN. TORCHWOOD. OR. DOCTOR. WHO.

**WARNINGS: **a little bit of JackIanto goodness//

**PART THREE**

"Doctor, what went wrong?"

The Doctor looked around at the people sitting at the conference table. At the top of the table was Jack. To his left were Ianto and Owen, and across from him were Rose and GwenF, who had a distressed Tosh sitting on her knee.

The Doctor looked directly at Jack. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "You said that the machine transformed Owen and Tosh at the same time back in the warehouse. In theory, it should have worked the same way in turning them back."

Ianto opened his mouth to make a comment on the Doctor's theories, but decided against it. Another time, maybe, but Ianto guessed that now would not be the time for jokes.

"Can you not do the same thing again with the tech-core thingy?" Rose asked.

"It needs to be charged up again," the Doctor said. "All of its remaining energy was used up in transforming Owen back to his correct age… so it didn't have enough remaining energy to turn Tosh back! Oh, Rose Tyler," his eyes twinkled with amusement. "You're brilliant."

Rose blushed, and Gwen had to restrain herself from giving Rose a little nudge.

"So, all you have to do is recharge the data-tech core?" Jack asked, hopefully.

"Yup."

"What if it doesn't work?" Owen asked, quietly, his eyes not leaving Tosh. She looked back at him, sadly. "What if Tosh is stuck like this?"

"It's reversible, Owen," the Doctor told him, seriously. "All it needs is some time to boost itself up again, and then Miss Sato will be back to normal."

"How long should it take to recharge?" Ianto asked.

The Doctor puffed out his cheeks and exhaled deeply. "About 12 hours should do it. That's a change, it's usually 24 hours to recharge something...sorry."

"Okay, 12 hours." Jack looked at his watch. "Everybody should go get some sleep: it's getting late and it's been a long day. I want everyone in by 10am sharp."

They all pushed back their chairs as they rose, and started to file out from the conference room, Tosh following behind Gwen. They were all in the main hub when Ianto suddenly asked, "What about Tosh? Where will she go tonight?"

Everyone paused, remembering the complications that arose when they had had this discussion the previous night. The silence stretched on for a while before Owen said, "I'll take her."

Tosh's eyes shot up to meet Owen's. Everyone looked nervously between Tosh and Owen. It had been fine when Owen was smaller, and he wasn't a problem to Tosh, like Jack and Ianto had been. But now that he was back to his right age, everyone wondered if Tosh would be frightened of him now. They were all waiting to see if Tosh went to Owen, or if she backed away.

Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as Tosh hesitated, before taking a step towards Owen. He kneeled down on the floor and gave Tosh an encouraging smile, and she gave a smaller one of her own back.

"Well, that's that settled," Jack said, relieved that Tosh's fear hadn't put a barrier between her and Owen. "Owen, do you need a lift home?"

"No, we'll walk," Owen replied, and he carefully picked Tosh up and rest her on his hip. Tosh put her arms around his neck for balance.

"There's some more clothing in a bag in the kitchen for her," the Doctor said. "Rose picked some out earlier."

Owen nodded. "Thanks." He walked towards the kitchen and found the bag sitting on the counter. He swung it onto his other shoulder, and he began to walk towards the exit.

"Remember; be back here for 10am!" Jack called to him before he left the hub.

Everyone waited until they heard the hub doors closing before they let out a collective sigh.

--------

It took about half an hour to walk back to Owen's house. He and Tosh stayed silent the entire journey, and Owen wondered what Tosh was thinking.

_She must be absolutely terrified_, Owen thought to himself as Tosh twisted in his arms slightly to rest her head on his shoulder. _Thrown back in to the childhood days that she was most afraid of. This must be hell for her._

As Owen began to climb the stairs to his flat, Tosh gave an obvious yawn. Owen smirked. "Sleepy?"

"Mmm," Tosh mumbled, wearily rubbing her eyes.

"Right, as soon as we get in, you're getting changed and going to bed," Owen told her. He fumbled about in his pocked for a moment before pulling out his keys and opening the flat door.

It had been a long time since Tosh was last in Owen's flat, and it hadn't changed much. It was very spacious, with paintings on the walls that had surprised her when she first saw them. She had never pinned Owen as an art fan, but she had been proved wrong.

Owen closed the door behind him and threw the keys on to the kitchen counter. He walked down the short hallway and opened the bathroom door. He gently lifted Toshiko off his hip and set her on the floor.

"Okay," he said as he put the clothes bag on the floor beside her. "I'm sure there's something in there for you to wear tonight. So, you get changed and give me a shout when you're done."

Tosh nodded sleepily and Owen gave her a small smile. He exited the bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar so that Tosh would be able to get out easily. Owen went back in to the kitchen and placed the discarded house keys in a drawer before getting a mug from one of the cabinets. He filled the mug with milk and put it in the microwave. He thought that maybe it would help Tosh to relax before she went to sleep.

He stood there in the kitchen for a few moments before a timid voice called, "Owen?" When he looked down he saw Toshiko standing there dressed in fluffy light pink pyjamas. Her hair was down, and she held one hand up at her mouth, self-consciously biting gently on her thumb, while her other hand was held behind her back. She looked like such the picture of innocence that Owen couldn't help but grin.

"You are so adorable," he told her without thinking. Both of them blushed, Tosh more so than Owen. He recovered quickly and cleared his throat. "Right, then. Bed?"

Tosh agreed with a barely concealed yawn. Owen gently picked her up again, like she would break if he was too rough, and he grabbed the mug of warm milk and headed off towards the spare bedroom. He gently pushed the door open with his foot. Once inside, he set the mug down on the bedside table and used his free hand to pull back the bed covers. He set Tosh down on the bed and pulled the covers over her. Tosh obediently lay back against the pillows and yawned again.

"I brought the milk to help you sleep," Owen said, absent-mindedly stroking the hair away from her face, "but it's obvious that you don't need it."

"Mmf," Tosh mumbled, her voice obscured by the bed covers. "Night, Owen," she managed to say before closing her eyes.

"G'night, Tosh," Owen said. He stayed with her until he was sure that she was sound asleep. As he got up to leave, he bent over her and softly kissed her forehead. He watched as she smiled in her sleep, and then he turned and left the bedroom.

--------

"Arrgh!" the Doctor gave out a frustrated moan as he walked in to the console room. Rose sat on the chair flicking through a magazine that she had borrowed from Gwen, as the Doctor began a frantic search in the console room.

"Where is it? Where is it?!" he called as he dove under the control panel.

"What have you lost?" Rose asked, looking up from her magazine.

The Doctor popped back up and frowned. "My sonic screwdriver!" he whined. Rose was reminded of a little kid when he did that. "I had it earlier on, and now I can't find it!" he began to pout. Rose giggled and she set aside her magazine as she began to walk towards him.

"Aww," she commented, stopping just in front of him and reaching up to ruffle his hair slightly. "Did you loose your toy?"

"It's not a toy, Rose," he moaned, half in annoyance and half in enjoyment of what she was doing to his head. "It's a very complicated piece of technology! If that falls in to somebody else's hands… I won't have it anymore!"

Rose sighed. "Do you want me to go and ask Jack if he's seen it?" she asked him.

The Doctor pouted again and nodded. "Yes, mummy."

Rose gave him a playful slap on the arm. "Oi, none of that," she told him, and copied him as he broke out in to an infectious grin. "Right, I'll be back in a minute, Stay out of trouble while I'm gone!" she teased.

When Rose left the TARDIS she headed over in the direction of Jack's office. She began thinking about what Gwen had said earlier on, deciding that she needed to make a move if the Doctor wasn't going to. It was the only way she would be able to make her feelings known before she got too old to travel anymore.

Rose was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the low, moaning noises coming from Jack's office. When she reached the door, she automatically knocked without thinking and opened the door. "Jack? The Doctor wants to know if you've seen his…" She paused as her brain finally registered the scene before her. Jack and Ianto were in a passionate embrace; Ianto's hands were tangled in Jack's hair, while Jack's hands were trailing over Ianto's back. Both of them were naked from the waist up. The moment they had heard the door opening they had jumped apart, but not before Rose got a good look at them. Rose and Ianto had flushed in embarrassment, but Jack didn't miss a beat. "…screwdriver." Rose finished her sentence. Her eyes widened suddenly and she clasped a hand over them. "Oh, god, sorry!" she began apologizing. "I didn't mean to walk in like that! I wasn't paying attention when I was walking up here and… and… oh, I'm really sorry!"

Jack was grinning and Rose could hear it in his voice. "S'okay, Rose, stop panicking. I think the Doctor left his sonic down in the medical bay."

"Right, thanks," Rose said, her hand still covering her eyes. "I'll just, um, go. Sorry again," she said before she walked out of the office, closing the door behind her. She quickly walked down to the med bay, her shock and embarrassment now fading off in to amusement. She found the Doctor's sonic screwdriver discarded besides other bits of machinery. Picking it up, she began giggling to herself as she made her way back in to the TARDIS. When she entered, she found the Doctor sitting on the pilot's chair, huffing slightly. Rose wandered over to him and threw the sonic screwdriver on to his lap, before collapsing beside him on the chair. The Doctor's face lit up with happiness when his saw his favourite 'toy', which then turned to suspicion when Rose continued to laugh to herself.

"Rooose, what's so funny?" he asked her. Rose managed to look at him for about one second before bursting out in to giggles again. The Doctor raised an amused eyebrow at her and Rose began to speak.

"I went to ask Jack if he knew where the screwdriver was," she told him, still giggling in between some words, "and when I walked in to the office, I saw him and Ianto," more giggles, "him and Ianto… they were… but not really… just almost…" She collapsed in to a fresh spout of giggles when she saw the look on the Doctor's face as he finally understood.

"Ahh," he said, and then his eyes widened in shock and he looked at his sonic screwdriver, horrified. "They didn't use…"

This just sent Rose in to another laughing fit, and she ended up rolling onto the floor. "No," she managed to gasp out before succumbing to laughter again. He grinned at her after a moment, setting the screwdriver on the chair and moving to stand over Rose. Her laughter had subsided in to little giggles now. He held out his hands and Rose took hold of them. He gently pulled her up on to her feet. "So, that's what you're laughing at?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

Rose nodded, biting her bottom lip while smiling. "It was quite cute actually… and hot."

The Doctor pouted this time. "You were admiring other men?"

This time, Rose raised her eyebrows. "Do you have a problem with that?" she challenged him.

The Doctor was caught out on this one, and he knew he had gotten himself in to this trap. "Well, um, you're your own person and I have no control over what you say or want. That isn't to say that I don't mind it when you look at other men- no! That's not what I meant! Well, I do mind, but it's up to you whether you choose to admire some one or not. I have no influence over you so you are entirely free to do what you want within reason-"

Rose rolled her eyes and reached up to plant a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth. This had the desired affect, and he stopped talking immediately.

"I don't want to be with anyone else," she told him, and the Doctor listened silently. "I told you a long time ago that I'd stay with you forever. That's my choice and I'm sticking with it."

"But what if you get tired of this life?" he asked her.

Rose shook her head. "Not possible," she said. "Besides… I could never leave you."

The Doctor smiled at her. "Really?"

Rose smiled back. "Really."

He grinned and picked her up in a hug. "Rose Tyler, you are amazing," he laughed.

"What did I do now?" she asked, giggling.

"Nothing," the Doctor said, setting her down. "You just had to be you."

Rose's smile slipped a little as she cleared her throat. "Um, Doctor? There's something I need to say, and… well, feel free to dump me back home after I say it…but…"

The Doctor raised his eyebrows slightly, his hearts quickening their pace. Rose looked in to his eyes and somehow found the courage to tell him.

"I love you," she said.

The Doctor's eyes widened and for a moment Rose thought that she had messed everything up. Then, to her surprise, the Doctor moved towards her and the next thing she knew, his lips were on hers in a simple, but passionate kiss. When they broke apart, the Doctor leaned his cheek against Rose's and whispered in to her ear, "I love you."

--------

It was a scream that awoke Owen. A scream followed by a muffled, frightened sob. Owen rolled over in his bed, still half asleep and glanced at his clock, which read 3:30am. He grumbled a bit, his brain still not registering what he had heard. Until the scream came again. Owen sat upright in bed and looked around his room, forcing his sleep-addled brain to sort itself out. Then he remembered.

Tosh.

He quickly got out of his bed and rushed down the hall and in to the guest room. He darted to the bedside table and turned the lamp on.

Tosh had been thrashing about in her sleep, and had tangled herself up in the sheets. Tears where slowly running down her cheeks as she let out another sob.

"Sshh," Owen soothed, stroking her forehead and trying to untangle her from the bed covers. "Tosh, it's okay. C'mon, wake up." He had just freed her from the covers when she half-opened her eyes. She was still caught up in her nightmare, and upon seeing Owen she let out another terrified scream, crying as she tried to scramble away from him.

"Tosh, it's me!" Owen said gently. "It's Owen- I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe."

Tosh slowly raised her head to look Owen in the eyes, and what he saw there almost broke his heart. The pain in her eyes, along with the confusion and terror was almost too much for him to take. Tosh let out another sob before throwing herself at Owen's body.

"Ssh," Owen said, gently hugging her to his chest while she continued to cry. "Oh, Tosh…"

"I dreamed he came back," Tosh mumbled in to Owen's shoulder. "He came in to this room and tried t-to kill me."

"It's okay now, you're safe." Owen rearranged himself so that he was sitting on the bed. He leaned against the headboard and continued to hold Tosh to him, gently rubbing her back. Eventually, her sobs died down in to a few hiccoughs, and then gradually to a few sniffles. After a moment, Owen asked her, "Do you think you could get back to sleep?"

Tosh looked scared for a moment and gripped tighter on to Owen's pyjama shirt. "I'll stay with you," he told her softly. "I'll be here if the nightmares come."

Tosh nodded, her eyes half-closing already. "You always kept the nightmares away…" she mumbled.

Owen smiled down at her. "Said I'd protect you, didn't I? All those years ago…I promised you that I'd be there for you."

Tosh moved her head slightly so that she could gaze gratefully up at Owen. "That was a long time ago…"

Owen nodded and gently brushed some of the hair out of her face. "Doesn't matter: a promise is a promise."

Tosh smiled at him before closing her eyes and snuggling in to his chest. Owen continued to rub her back, helping her to go back to sleep. After a while, when Tosh's breathing had become steady, Owen too nodded off.

--------

"Morning, sleepyhead," Owen said as Tosh walked in to the kitchen that morning. "How do you feel?"

"...sleepy," Tosh responded after a moment's thought. She yawned and rubbed her eyes as if to prove her point. "What time is it?"

"Just after 8," Owen replied. "What do you want for breakfast?" Owen asked. Tosh shrugged and he walked over to the kitchen cabinets. "Well, I've got... um... well, nothing."

Tosh giggled. "You never have time for breakfast because you're never up early enough," she said.

"Good point," Owen sighed. "Well, what do you say to eating out for breakfast?" Tosh nodded exictedly. "Okay, then. Go get yourself dressed and we'll head out." Owen smiled as he watched Tosh scampered away to get clothed.

--------

"Doctor? Rose?" Jack called as he poked his head in to the TARDIS. "You guys up yet?" There was no response in the console room so Jack ventured in further. He gave the console and affectionate pat as he walked past it, and the TARDIS hummed in pleasure. "Where should I check first?" An image of the TARDIS kitchen appeared in his mind. "Ah, so they are up, thanks."

It wasn't far to the kitchen and as Jack stepped through into the room he could see the fridge door was open and there was a head of blonde hair sticking out from just above the door.

"Rosie, good morning!" Jack said.

Rose squeaked in surprise and immediatedly stood up. "Jack! Oh god, um, hey! What are you doing here?" she gushed, flushing slightly. She was fidgeting with something like the hem of her shirt behind the firdge door.

"I came to see if you and the Doctor wanted any coffee or breakfast," Jack said, frowning. "What's up, Rose? You look shifty... it's not because you saw me and Ianto last night, is it?" he added, grinning.

"Oh, no! It's not that!" Rose said. "It's, um, well..." The TARDIS rumbled with what felt like laughter and suddenly the fridge door snapped shut. Rose squealed as she had to quickly move out of the way, giving Jack a clear view of what she was... or _wasn't_ wearing.

Rose was wearing a long-sleeved, light blue shirt and Jack could tell that she wasn't wearing a bra, but she was wearing pants. The shirt was a bit too long to be a woman's shirt, and now that Jack was taking a second look at it, it did look familiar...

"Oooh, Roooosieee," Jack grinned slyly, and he was pleased to see that Rose's cheeks were burning bright red "did someone get lucky?"

"Rose! What's taking you so long?" the Doctor said, walking in to the kitchen in nothign but his boxers and not noticing Jack at first. "The cream should be on the second...shelf..." He trailed off when he realised that Jack was standing there looking like a kid on Christmas Day. "..."

"Oh, this is just too much," Jack said, laughing at the embarrassed looks on his friend's faces. "This is so great for the both of you!" The Doctor and Rose laughed nervously. "Anyway... when you two are finished with... whatever you were about to do... Ianto's making breakfast in the hub. You're welcome to join us... well, see ya!" Jack ran out of the kitchen laughing to himself, and the TARDIS joined in.

--------

"So, what can I get you?"

Owen looked up from his menu and at the waiter. "Yeah, I'm ready to order. Tosh?"

Toshiko looked up from her menu and beamed at Owen. "You go first."

Owen rolled his eyes. "Okay, then. I'll have the English breakfeast and a coffee."

"Yes, sir," the waiter wrote the order on a piece of paper and turned to Tosh with a smile. "And you?"

"I'll have the eggs and toast, please," Tosh said. "Oh! And orange juice," she added.

"Of course," the waiter said while collecting the menus. "I'll be back with your food soon."

"Thank you!" Tosh called out after him. "What?" she asked when Owen was giving her a weird look.

"Are you trying to be cute on purpose, or does it just come out naturally?" Owen asked.

Tosh shrugged. "It's natural," she said, giggling.

Owen smiled at her. "So, no more nightmares last night?"

Tosh smiled innocently. "I don't know... you tell me?"

"Huh?"

"I know that you stayed with me last night," Tosh said.

"Oh...well, y'know, I didn't want you to wake up from another nightmare on your own, so..."

"Thank you," Tosh said, cutting across him. "It means a lot to me that you stayed last night."

"Yeah, well, you're welcome," Owen said gruffly, but with a faint smile. "So... drink, then? Tonight?"

"Yes," Tosh said, smiling. "Providing everything goes to plan."

"Here you are then, sir, young lady," the waiter said, placing their food and drink before them on the table.

"Cheers, mate," Owen said, picking up his knife and fork. "Right, let's get this food in to us and then we'll get to the Hub."

"Okay!"

**

**elmo-doodle: **voila! chapter three! reviews are like cookies, and i'm in desperate need of some chocolate! (why am i still watching High School Musical 2?!)


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